Daniel Craig's new James Bond in Casino Royale breathes new life into what had become, in my opinion, a rather tired and worn concept - a striking achievement, given that Casino Royale was Ian Fleming's first novel in the series, written in 1953. We meet Bond as a fledgling British agent, who has not yet achieved double-0 status from MI6, with his "license to kill." The film seems more violent to me than previous Bond films, showing him cleaning up after the action - indeed, some of his injuries as depicted were real, according to The Ticket, November 2006. He is also less "superhuman" than in the other films; for example, he is not as adept at "running free" as his opponent. The new Bond, far from perfect (he upsets M by killing an agent rather than capturing him) illustrates the new realism and his vulnerability, as we see later when he loses his heart to Vesper Lind and is devastated by his apparent suicide. From a plot perspective, this seems a somewhat ridiculous outcome, but it certainly adds to the drama. However, a classic cliché from Bond films is when she betrays him (in order to save him)....